Finger Pads and Callouses
by Starfang's Secrets
Summary: Lounging on the sofa together, Uraraka never would have imagined Bakugou asking to touch her finger pads. Inspired by a art piece by saisai-chan on Tumblr. Kacchako. Fluff.


A/N: Hello everyone!

It's been a while, I know. I don't mean to keep you waiting for the next chapter of Backtracking, I've just been going through an art funk. This little oneshot was actually inspired by the amazing saisaichan on umblr with a T, pen name saisailove on AO3. She's a fantastic artist and writer, and I love her headcannons about Bakugou and Kacchako in general. The actually piece that inspired this story will be linked on my AO3 account, my DA account, and umblr with a T.

* * *

"What?"

The word came out of Uraraka Ochako's mouth without thought, her filter non-existent in her bemusement. She watched as her boyfriend's face turned a bright red, his ruby gaze averting from her.

Bakugou Katsuki took a deep breath, an exercise All Might had suggested to help temper his short fuse. Admittedly, it did work when it came to his anger or pride; embarrassment? He was still working on that. Unable to look Uraraka in the eyes, he muttered, "Your...finger pads. Can I touch them?"

Uraraka frowned in confusion. "I don't...but you've touched them before, Bakugou-kun." Classes were done for the day, and the two of them were lounging side-by-side on one of the sofas in the commons area in their dorm, the rest of their class otherwise occupied.

"Holding hands is different!" He nearly shouted, clearly flustered. One of his eyebrows twitched. "Forget it—"

"No, no!" Uraraka quickly reassured, suppressing a giggle at how easy it was for him to get riled up. Smiling softly, though still bemused at this development, she extended her hand face up to him. When it seemed he was going to be stubborn about it, she rolled her eyes and placed her hand atop one of his. "Here."

Bakugou pouted for a moment longer before the curiosity that had spurned his odd request broke through his flustered pride, and he took her hand into both of his. Though his face had cooled slightly, his cheeks remained warm as they always did when he touched her. Cradling her hand with one of his, he used the other to trace the lines of her hand. _'Soft,'_ was his first thought, as it always was, when they first held hands. It belied the strength he respected her for.

Cheeks warming at the intensity on Bakugou's face, Uraraka watched as he traced an invisible line from the base of one of her fingers to the pad just before her fingertip. Her hand twitched involuntarily at the sensation, and she gave him a sheepish smile when his eyes flicked up to meet hers. "It's tickles."

The slight upwards tilt of the corner of his mouth made her heart rate pick up and her cheeks flush once more. They spent a few quiet moments like that; Bakugou tracing his fingers across the plains of her hand while she tried not to move despite the slight ticklish thrill that resulted from his soft touch.

"Well?" Uraraka asked when Bakugou seemed satisfied with his inspection of her Quirk.

He tried to be nonchalant as he shrugged, but the slight blush on his cheeks gave him away. "It's like a cat's paw." Bakugou then looked away at her knowing grin. Though it was not known by many, he shared their teacher's love for felines.

"My turn!" Uraraka suddenly announced as she took one of his hands into her own.

"What?!" Bakugou protested, but he didn't remove his hand as she pulled it closer to her.

"I mean, it's only fair, right?" She smiled implishly at him. He averted his gaze as he began to grumble, a pout on his lips, and Uraraka translated it as his permission.

Holding his hand palm up as he had held hers, she was not surprised by the rough texture her fingertips encountered as she traced the contours of his palm. It had never bothered her; in fact, she rather liked the contrast when they held hands and when he hesitantly touched her during the occasional makeout session. It occurred to her then that she had never wondered until that moment as to why his hands were roughened with callouses.

 _'How many bruises and bloodied palms did it take for him to reach this level of resistance?'_ She wondered, a younger version of Bakugou taking up her mind's eye as she imagined, tirelessly pushing himself to the limit to reach the ridiculous expectations he had set for himself. _'How many tears of disappointment...?'_

That last thought made Uraraka's heart clench with sympathy she knew he would never accept, and without thinking, brought his palm up to her face to press her lips against the toughened skin there.

Bakugou let out a nearly silent surprised screech at the sudden intimate gesture, heat suffusing his cheeks in a seemingly permanent blush. Flustered, he jerked his hand away from her. "What the f*ck, Uraraka?!"

"Sorry!" Uraraka squeaked, surprised and embarrassed by her own actions. "I just—I mean—I didn't—!" Flustered, her mouth snapped shut as the words got clogged in her throat. Taking a calming breath, she took in how he covered his face with the hand she had kissed, the red skin of his cheeks peeking from between his fingers. Seeing how much such a simple gesture affected him calmed her slightly, and made her brave enough to reach out for his other hand.

He didn't resist her touch, and she caught him staring at her from behind his fingers as she brought his hand to her lips once more.

"Wha…?" Bakugou's voice broke, furthering his embarrassment.

Cheeks flushing once more, Uraraka merely smiled at him as she squeezed his hand gently with her own. It was in moments like these that she was reminded that, while an expert on the battlefield, Bakugou was a novice when it came to such things. This left it to her initiating most of their intimate interactions, not that she really minded. So, it was with care that she said, "For all the hard work you've done."

Bakugou had been praised before for his abilities, but this was different and he knew it. Curling in on himself and looking away to further hide his flaming face, he grumbled, "Why do you have to be so goddamn embarrassing?"

"You like it." She declared confidently as she squeezed his hand once more.

He didn't say anything to that, but her smile brightened when she felt his fingers curl around her hand, squeezing it back.

* * *

The end! I hope you enjoyed it! I'll try to get the next chapter of Backtracking out as soon as possible!

Until next time!

~Star


End file.
